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Winemaker's Notes:

The fruit came off three small young vineyards located on Willowside and River Roads. We farmed two of the three vineyards so we knew the quality of the fruit was going to arrive in excellent condition at the crushpad. 2007 is known across Sonoma County as a “great vintage” and for us it truly was an expressive year. Near perfect growing conditions and summer weather patterns helped create balance between flavor intensity and mature flavor profiles. Lots of flavor without the high (numerically) brix sugar levels. At the crushpad, the plump clusters were gently destemmed and gravity crushed into small open top fermentors where the fresh must fermented outside with netting (shielding from fruit flies) for 13 days. Pressed dry at 1.9 bars, this wine sat sur lees for three weeks while undergoing malo-lactic fermentation. The sediment was stirred daily for two of those three weeks allowing for further breakdown of additional flavors into solution adding to body which is super important for low alcohol, lighter bodied wines. Racked mostly clean, the wine sat undisturbed in mostly older French barrels for several months until Spring where it was exposed to tiny amounts of oxygen via racking extending the aromas and softening the flavor profiles. We bottled 13 barrels in May 2009 where it sat for the summer months experiencing further necessary ageing.

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The Harvest Moon: the moon at and about the period of fullness that is nearest to the autumnal equinox. In the legend of the Harvest moon, it is said that all full moons have their own special characteristics based primarily on the whereabouts of the ecliptic in the sky at the time of year that these moons are visible.
Harvest Moon Estate and Winery was founded on growing, producing and bo... Read more

The Harvest Moon: the moon at and about the period of fullness that is nearest to the autumnal equinox. In the legend of the Harvest moon, it is said that all full moons have their own special characteristics based primarily on the whereabouts of the ecliptic in the sky at the time of year that these moons are visible.
Harvest Moon Estate and Winery was founded on growing, producing and bottling world-class Russian River Valley wine in a balanced, elegant style. Our premise is that Russian River Valley Zinfandel can be just as layered and complex as any Pinot Noir or Bordeaux variety in the world and receive the same respect. The Pitts family has grown quality grapes in the Russian River Valley since 1976. In 2000, son Randy reverse migrated from San Francisco back to Sonoma County to assume the farming responsibilities at the family's modest nine-acre ranch. In conjunction with lessons on farming by his Dad and a few viticulture/enology courses at the local junior college, Randy made a barrel of homemade Zinfandel off the ranch's back block which turned out exceptionally tasty. Quickly concluding that properly farmed and judiciously fermented, Zinfandel has great capabilities of being California's own wine nobility. The growers-turned winemakers birthed their inaugural vintage in 2002 and look forward to making their Zinprint on the winescene for decades to come.
In addition to growing up Zinfandel, Harvest Moon also hand crafts small amounts of Russian River Valley Gewürztraminer, Pinot Noir and Dry Creek Cabernet Sauvignon.
The significance of the logo: Our simple circular brushstroke logo is an ancient Chinese symbol that’s been contemporarily adopted by the Japanese as the circle of life. Our logo, like our vineyards, represents a semi-closed system; permeable from outside influence. The Circle of Life starts out slow and builds to high productivity only to level out and enjoy a slow, gradual decline. Just before the circle is joined, there’s a brief pause - a quietness of sorts - and then begins the cycle anew. This is life… These are our seasons… This is wine.
Tasting Room
We proudly invite you out to the Estate tasting room and winery to experience the next echelon of full-service Sonoma County wine country! Tasting Room is located on the Harvest Moon Estate and is open daily from 10:00-5:00. For groups larger than six, we encourage reservations. Read less

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Not much going on in the nose here, with gentle aromas of chalky earth, dried herb stems, and tomato leaf that blossom into an intensely floral bouquet. Rather high acid in the mouth with taut flavors of barely ripe strawberries. This is simple, yet clean and brisk with a certain appeal. The backend shows more depth to the fruit and it develops some sweetness with a moderately intense floral tone. This is very lightly flavored but finishes with good persistence. A simple wine but not a bad wine. 86pts

Tasting Notes:

4/18/09: Tasted 24 hours since carefully placed in tanks. This wine will sit for 3 weeks where we allow each barrels' microbiological communities can meet and greet one another and party if necessary in tank prior to bottling. Estimated release date: 12/09. Futures offered.
Picked on time with its freshness retained, this wine is both pretty yet structured enough to be taken serious in any Pinot Noir arena. Dark electric hues of brick emit from the glasses’ edge. Aromas of soft yet spicy red cherry envelop a pleasant earthiness. (Probably the barrelly profile of recent contact w/ wood). Flavor profiles of rich tart ripe cherry with a slow swell of tannin softly grips the palate. The mouth feel and medium body are approachable now, however a few years would integrate and elevate this Pinot to a different level. Enjoy from late 2010 and continue to drink for a decade.

The fruit came off three small young vineyards located on Willowside and River Roads. We farmed two of the three vineyards so we knew the quality of the fruit was going to arrive in excellent condition at the crushpad. 2007 is known across Sonoma County as a “great vintage” and for us it truly was an expressive year. Near perfect growing conditions and summer weather patterns helped create balance between flavor intensity and mature flavor profiles. Lots of flavor without the high (numerically) brix sugar levels. At the crushpad, the plump clusters were gently destemmed and gravity crushed into small open top fermentors where the fresh must fermented outside with netting (shielding from fruit flies) for 13 days. Pressed dry at 1.9 bars, this wine sat sur lees for three weeks while undergoing malo-lactic fermentation. The sediment was stirred daily for two of those three weeks allowing for further breakdown of additional flavors into solution adding to body which is super important for low alcohol, lighter bodied wines. Racked mostly clean, the wine sat undisturbed in mostly older French barrels for several months until Spring where it was exposed to tiny amounts of oxygen via racking extending the aromas and softening the flavor profiles. We bottled 13 barrels in May 2009 where it sat for the summer months experiencing further necessary ageing.